POLITICAL FORCE SHOULD HAVE POLITICAL TEAM

Lragir.am
01 Sept 06

Our interview with Khosrov Harutiunyan, the leader of the Christian
Democratic Union, is on the positive and negative sides of the
political situation in Armenia and possible developments.

Let us start with your political party. Will you run in the
parliamentary election 2007? Alone or in an alliance?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: We will run in the election. Alliances of
different forms are possible. This cooperation, however, will have two
important peculiarities. First, it will be based on ideological
similarity and will be for the sake of something, not against
anything. This is the political approach and resolution of the
Christian Democratic Union.

How would you evaluate the processes and livelihood in home policies?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: The upcoming developments are different from the
previous similar stages.

One of the differences is the enhanced role of the political parties
in the public consciousness. The public has started realizing that if
we expect, wish or speak about a serious policy, it must be related to
a political organization, not an individual. This is a
progress. Second, which is also positive, it is getting rooted in the
public consciousness that the activities of a political unity cannot
be separated from its ideological component. Today everyone has
started talking about ideology. Of course, by saying ideology
different forces understand different things, including a pre-election
program. At any rate, however, it is positive that they started
speaking about ideas. In the previous elections alliances were not
based on ideological similarity.

Today everyone understands that they are facing the necessity to
reshape the political sphere, and consolidate, and this consolidation
includes ideological partners rather than mechanical units. This is
the positive thing about the current home political situation, which
tend to develop and become deeper.

How about the negative?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: The negative is that the measure of influence in
politics remains the number of members of the political
party. Everyone is talking about the number of members of the
political party but nobody is trying to understand that the influence
of the political party is determined by one thing ` the ability to
make political decisions. And this is not determined by the number of
members the party has. We should admit that the powerful and
influential political forces are the ones which have serious political
ability and a political team that has potential. The political parties
which can tell the public: if you trust the program of our political
party and vote, this is our future government. And as a citizen I will
consider an influential political party the force which is more
influential, has a more able and viable political team rather than
money. This perception, unfortunately, is in embryo.

Most of us speak about the criminal. Over the past six months they
have been considering that the criminal is entering politics. Everyone
says without defining the criminal. I am asking now: are there new
figures in the political sphere we did not know before, who have a
criminal past? You won’t see such people. Everyone who has an active
role in the political processes, both in and outside the parliament,
are known to everyone. Whether they were criminal or not, they have
been in politics for a long time now. All kinds of authorities, from
the neighborhood to politics, are not new in the political sphere.
They were in the parliament, they were ministers. Hence, what does it
mean the criminal intruded politics. We must give a definition to
this. We must also define the form of struggle. This is what I am
concerned about.

What is criminal and the means of struggle against it?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: I stated my worries as long ago as in 2002.
Generally, the economic power seeks political power. This is a regular
process of organization of public life. There cannot be economic power
without its continuation in political power. Vice versa, political
power seeking for economic power is wrong. This is the path of
corruption. Economic power seeks political power. This is the classic
way. And if this political power is legal, it does not have problems
with the law, it formed under free competition, transparent income and
fair distribution of property, this economic power is even helpful for
strengthening the political power. By saying criminal, we should
understand an economic power, which has problems with the law, which
has its greater part in the black economy, which avoids declaration of
its income and fair distribution of its property. If they do not
define it so, I will not understand what criminal is. And the
political aspirations of such an economic power is dangerous for the
public,

Now the forms of struggle. Usually the existing political parties try
to use this kind of economic power, which are political parties of one
leader, a pyramid formed under a leader of charisma, where the word of
the leader is the law. And for such political parties with such a
quasi-democratic internal life this kind of economic power is a real
discovery. It is enough to buy the leader of the party, and the entire
political party is in your hands. Consequently, the problem is that
the entrance of economic power, which has problems with the law, can
be blocked by only a predictable, intelligible and perceivable
political system.

We suggest speaking about political teams in the upcoming election
independent from the number of members of the political parties. Such
a model will promote new approaches inside political parties. We
propose discussing the question of adopting a proportional system of
election, like in Holland or Scandinavia. The voter votes the party
ticket and a definite person on this list. Not only the leader but
also the entire political party is presented to the public, and
everyone needs to prove that its political party is preferable.
Having money or not is not so important in such a political
competition. In such a political situation we will have a) a gradually
quality political system, b) political parties living a qualitatively
new internal life, which cannot appear under the influence of the
economic power which has problems with the law. This is a way which
will allow protecting the political process from elements which have
nothing to do with politics.

What will the elections and the National Assembly be like, in your
opinion?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: I do not have great expectations. In fact, there
is a practical chance to have a qualitatively new National Assembly,
if we start considering political teams now. The political parties,
which seek influence, can present their political teams, meat with
people. We need to understand, hear, see, touch to find out if we can
trust it or not. If we do this, money will not be that important in
the upcoming election. If we fail to do this, we will unfortunately
have to report another failure in political developments. It is
necessary to put the problem correctly, form demand in the society.

The society wants to see political teams. The political parties will
have to introduce their teams. They cannot replace the team with
money. It is impossible. Those who will try to replace the team with
money will lose. And the presence of political teams will lead to an
ideological clash, rich people will look for professionals, and all of
us will benefit. Fish starts decaying from the head, but they start
cleaning the fish from the tail.

ARAM ZAKARYAN